Unquestionably
by Blooappall
Summary: The war is raging, and has once again come to the North Pole. Katara goes to the spirit oasis to beg for help from an unusual source... A character study in five parts.
1. Katara

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar, but I wish I did.

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"Please…" she begged "Please, you helped Aang once. I'm begging you, help me now. Help me to do what needs to be done. Help me as-"

Her throat was dry, and she swallowed, forcing the tired muscles to move.

"Help me as the blood-sister of the woman who gave her life for you, for your love."

The koi continued circling in the pond, their eternal dance never-ending. Katara tried to speak again, but her throat muscles closed up, refusing to work no matter how hard she tried to talk. The sounds of battle were closer now, and she could see flashes of fire over the top of the wall that separated her from the outside world.

She returned her gaze to the pool, and plunged her arms into the water, praying that her actions would speak where her words could not. She was not sure how long she stayed like that, bent over at the poolside- it felt like an age, but could have been no longer than a few minutes. Her arms felt like lead, and her will was fighting a losing battle against tired muscles.

She slumped forwards, unable to hold herself up any longer, but even though her body was weak, her mind continued in it's never-ending mantra- _please, please, help me, help me to end this, it has to stop, please help me, please, there is too much, too much killing and war and blood and gore and oh spirits please help me I can't do it alone, please, please help me, help me oh please help me_-

One of the koi left the dance, the other following in its wake. They circled around her submerged arms lazily, dancing in a figure of eight around the limbs of the exhausted girl. There was a moment of agonised waiting, which seemed to stretch beyond the limits of the possible, expecting to break at any moment now, any moment- now, surely now?

But the moment did not break, instead getting bigger, and larger, and before Katara knew it she was caught up in a maelstrom of thoughts, feelings, wants desires, _memories_.

She saw the lives of Tui and La as they had been in the spirit world- friends, lovers, one pulling, the other pushing, stumbling and laughing like children, always running, moving on, travelling and then one day they stopped and listened and saw the suffering and knew how they could help and they changed and became smaller, but still the same, still circling and dancing together, always together, nothing could ever separate them, together, together, toge-

Separation.

Pain.

Death.

Anguish.

Hate.

Rage.

Relief.

Calm.

Revenge.

Together again- the realisation that they were _mortal_, they could die and not find each other in the great expanse, but their lives continued in the great dance that made up their lives- and then her. So tiny, so insignificant, so _small_ in comparison to the great scheme of all those things, but still important, still vital, still _needed_.

The knowledge filled her up, her mind filling with the knowledge and her heart laughing with pure, honest, simple _relief_ that it could stop, the war would be over and things would go back to normal. Except that they never could -at least, not for her- because she was full of secrets, those deadly, awful, wonderful things from before the dawn of time.

Her muscles burned and her voice screamed, and all of her _burnt_ with the fire of knowledge, except one small, tiny part the watched and said- _I will remember this, so I will never become like Azula, or Ching, or Afiko, or Mai-lu-zo, or Asaya, or Ruoko or any of the others. I will remain me. I will change and flow and bend but I am water and I WILL **NOT** BREAK. Life will go on, as it always does, and I will be strong._

And then it was over, and she was lying by the poolside with her arms in the water and her voice hoarse with screaming and the grass under her body and the sounds of battle growing ever closer now. She rose off of the grass, new strength flowing through her veins, her healing coursing through her battered body and mending it anew, whole and ready to fight- except for one place.

One place she would not let it touch, lest she forget her humanity, lest she become less than that which she had been. She rose into the air, her mind clearer than it had ever been, her fingertips buzzing with the power, taking hold of the moisture in the air and raising her up- no. She dropped to the ground again and let her arms fall to her sides. She walked out of the sanctuary as a simple girl, as Katara, to join the battle and stop the war.

She would come back again many months later, as a woman, a warrior, a lover- but still, unquestionably, Katara.

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Bloody hell. Writing that was an experience. I just sat down at the computer, not expecting anything more than a little drabble and out comes this- this- thing. I really, really love this piece.

Please comment, and review. I will love you forever if you do :D


	2. Sokka

Disclaimer: Don't own, wish I did.

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****Two**

Sokka spun and danced in the snow, ducking, spinning, thrusting- again, and again and again. It was like dancing with his enemies- except that his partners would tend to fall to the ground and not rise again. He would continue the dance, alone.

Suki was dead. They had found her body stuffed unceremoniously in the bushes alongside those of her companions. He had grieved and mourned for her had he had not done for Yue, the tears coursing down his cheeks for hours. Then he had locked that piece of his heart away and continued with his life.

The jokes had seemed to be harder to find back then, and the love for meat was sometimes superseded by the pleading look in Aang's eyes.

And then had come Ty Lee. A chance encounter had led to her defecting at Mai's death. Somehow they had grown closer. Somehow, he had found himself laughing and hunting again. Somehow, Sokka had considered opening the gates to his heart again. He was lucky he hadn't.

She had died, at Azula's hand.

Now only Yue remained. His first love and- he realised now- likely to be the only one who would stay with him forever. He glanced up briefly to her smiling face in thanks, and then dropped his gaze to the soldier in front of him.

He was surrounded, but still he fought. He could feel the strain in his arms as his muscles protested, and he could vaguely see Toph still battling valiantly on with a pouch of dirt from the Oasis. Still he fought. On and on and on and onandonandon- a blur of pain, fatigue and tension, but still he fought. Desperate to give his sister time to collect the precious water she needed. Desperation clouding his mind until only it and the need to fight remained.

He was ready to make a last stand when everything changed.

There was an explosion of sound and light from behind him, and for a fleeting moment he thought- he's back, Aang isn't dead, he isn't reincarnated- and then he turned. Soldiers around him backed away as he squinted into the light emanating from the Oasis doorway, a hand covering his face to block the unearthly glow.

His heart leapt into his throat and his mouth went dry as he recognised the small form in the doorway.

_Katara…_

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This is turning out to be a character study in five, maybe six parts. Look out fot the next bit soon! 


	3. Toph

Disclaimer: Don't own, wish I did.

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****Three**

Toph fought wearing boots made of earth and a pouch of earth at her side. No more big, showy moves for her now, not in this icy desert. Just simple manoeuvres- punch with a fist of rock, call it back, duck, twist, blind with dust and try to tear out their eyes, grimace as blood splattered on her skin- Sokka had said once that she was the messiest fighter he had ever seen.

She expected if she could see the carnage around her as he did, she would agree with him. But she couldn't, so she continued fighting, even as the ice shook beneath her and the men began backing away, even as she heard Sokka yell- an anguished cry- _Katara, what did you do?_- she continued fighting until suddenly, the ground disappeared beneath her feet and warm arms were wrapped around her waist.

She struggled, screaming kicking biting clawing _oh god I've never been so helpless _until there was a sharp slap. Once, twice, and she fell into silence, slumping against Sokka- she recognised his scent now that her mind wasn't clouded by battle fever.

She barely registered his voice as he put her down gently, making sure she could stand- something about winning- but she pushed him off and walked as fast as she dared across the bloody snowfield- the snow was sticky underfoot and she hated _hated hated_ it, but she continued walking towards the steady, slow pulse she had only felt once before.

She hugged Katara, tears streaming down her face as she felt the steady, slow one-two, one-two, one-two that she had only ever felt in Aang's chest before- and now Katara's. She wholeheartedly agreed with Sokka's cry- _What had she done_ _to herself_? But she held it in, just revelling in the moment of the three of them, standing together amidst carnage.

It was almost perfection. But not quite.

Because while she could clean away the blood, she could never erase the screams from her mind, or give back the lives she had taken.

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Gaah. I never expected Toph's to be quite this- graphic. Yes, all the soldiers died. Think icecubes. 


	4. Zuko

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Avatar, but I wish I did.

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**Four**

_Crunch crunch crunch _heavy boots on snow (sometimes a squelch as he trod in a puddle of blood) but he didn't care because he had seen it all before and it hurt him to see the depths to which his sister could sink- he could still see her in his minds eye, a little child who smiled and laughed and would look up to her older brother, but now she had changed: she was her father's child, no doubt about it- she'd killed his uncle.

He closed his eyes tight to block out the memory- it still hurt to see his uncle twisting at the gallows- a horrible, horrible death. No honour in that kind of death. Not at all. Zuko had buried him, not letting anyone else help- it was his entire fault, all his and no-one else's. He should have never listened to his sister in Ba Sing Se- but it was too late for anything but regrets now, because they were all dead and dying and he was looking for the only people who could help.

There they were, huddled together amidst a scene of carnage. The blind earthbender was crying, much to his surprise, because she had always seemed the strong one. The brother- the non bender- was supporting the two girls and looking into the sky, straight at the moon. But no, he was wrong, the waterbender- Katara was her name, wasn't it? _His memories hadn't seemed quite the same after uncle's death- fading away till all he could hear was the sickening swing and drop and the slowly fading gasps for air._ She was supporting the girl and her brother, looking straight at him with a strange light in her eyes- he had seen that before, in the avatar's face and he dropped to his knees, knowing he was in the presence of greatness.

"Please…" he managed to choke out, speaking to her, but then all three pairs of eyes were on him and it seemed easier to get the words out now that he had other eyes to focus on than hers.

"I'm sorry. I've been a fool. I can't do this any more, not since my uncle died, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry she killed Aang and I'm sorry for trusting her but I promise that I'll try from now on because I can't take the blood any more…" He was babbling, he knew, but he didn't care because he had to get it out, all of it, he had to let it go whilst he had the chance because if he didn't now he'd never be able to.

Then there was silence, and shifting, as he finished and the waterbender walked towards him slowly, looking at him with those changed, age-old eyes, filled with so much. She didn't speak, instead kneeling at his side, soaking her dress in more blood and pulling him into a heartfelt hug.

The warrior moved forwards now, speaking seriously.

"It's alright. Aang is dead, yes, but he will be reborn. I know I've had enough of the death. I trust you."

"You have my trust…"

The earthbender- Zuko noticed now the heavy earthen boots on her feet and realisation kicked in _she sees with earthbending_ but she was still speaking and he turned his attention to her words.

"…but I'm not too sure about the other benders here."

Silence.

He reached for something at his back, the one belonging he had brought when he fled Azula's ship. It was the only thing he thought important enough- because it was the one thing in his life _the only thing __left__ now that uncle is gone_ that showed that he had any hint of being a good person and not the snotty, stuck-up supercilious firebending prince that everyone (nearly everyone) believed him to be.

"If-" he swallowed nervously, not quite able to believe what he was about to say. "If your people won't trust me, will they trust the Blue Spirit?" He let the cloth fall away from the package in his hand, revealing the blue and white oni mask he held. He had thrown it away at his uncle's behest- thrown it into the lake, drowned it, thought it gone forever.

He had swum down to the bottom when his uncle had died, hoping for the same dishonourable death- drowning was just as bad as hanging the only real difference was the location and that was what mattered to him- but the Dai Li had followed him on his sister's orders and had brought him to shore before he ran out of oxygen.

He hadn't found the mask until the second time they had had to fish him out. They had pulled him out three more times after that before he admitted defeat and let himself be dragged back to face the wrath of his sister- an angry glare and being ignored was the worst it got as long as she was still willing to pretend he was on her side.

He looked back up into the eyes watching him- the three had hustled him into the spirit oasis when the warriors of the northern tribe had begun to rise off the battlefield, those still alive healed by an amazing display of bending by Katara. They stared back without the animosity that he had begun to expect when looking into the eyes of another and it shocked him.

There was a talk. Brief, but necessary- everything being said that needed to be said, and at the end of it all, they walked out of the Oasis- Zuko wearing his mask and taking credit for the wonders that Katara had performed. They had begun to honour him, but he had hurried forwards and hauled the first to bow to his feet, saying gruffly-

"No-one bows before me. I don't deserve it."

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Edited chapter four and reposted. 


	5. Katara 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Avatar, but I wish I did.

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**Five**

The war is over: long gone and long past. Twenty years in fact. And so muchg has changed, but so much has kept the same.

Zuko stayed true to what he said in the North Pole. He never allowed anyone to bow to him again. But he took the throne anyway. He thinks he has solved the problem by not allowing bowing. He doesn't realise that this is just another form of control. His people will, if he tells them to jump, do so and then ask if it was high enough.

Sokka settled down with on Kyoshi- for a few months at least- but then he found it didn't suit him. He travelled for a bit- stayed at the North Pole for a while, but in the end he went back to the South. He's a simple man, my brother, and the place he was born will always be home to him. I think he'd hit me if I told him this, but he's becoming more and more like Pakku, with every passing year. Instead of teaching bending, he teaches survival and weapons to the youngsters. I sat in on a lesson once- he's rather good at what he does.

Toph…is dead. I think. Or she might be wandering the countryside. Every time I lose hope, I'll hear some fantastical new story about a short female earthbender beating the snot out of someone supposedly better trained and older than her. But I don't know. I think that the last battle- not the north pole, but the one in the middle of the ocean, where she ripped up nearly the entire fire nation navy and killed Azula with a rivet. In one eye and out the back of her head. Very messy. I think that shook her, right down to the core. She was taking bigger and bigger risks, until one day she just up and left.

And then there's me. Where do I start? The fact that I don't appear to be aging? Or maybe the fact that I'm training the new Avatar- a lovely little girl called Izumi. Perhaps you'd like to hear about the dreams I have? But to understand my story you have to go back to the start and hear of a boy frozen in an iceberg after a hundred years of war.

But that tale is long, and I am tired.

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The end of **Unquestionably. **This last chapter was jsut something I blasted off in a break between exams, but I think it fits.

_It's been fun :D_

Sacharissa

&

Talbeth (my incredibly-more-hyper-than-me muse)


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